OH OH - Ruth Baumgardner, 21, Delaware, 4 May 1937

[Gina_M]

Feeling lazy this evening and don't want to go back and research.... Did Ruth have any siblings?

From post 29:

The Baumgardners had a married daughter named Ora Hardwick. No other siblings.

 

[LisainWV]

Thanks Gina. I find it surprising that Ruth was willing to leave behind a family, her sorority sisters, a new car (which would have been a very valuable asset in those days) and never returned. she had to have done it for true love.

I think this man was someone her parents would not have approved of:

not wealthy and/or educated
much older (most cases this didn't seem to be a problem with most families)
wrong skin color perhaps
wrong ethnicity??

who knows..... the possibities seem to be endless

maybe her parents were just domineering and she decided to have the final say in her life...

BTW, nice car!!! I enjoyed the link Gina. Thanks again.

 

[Mischa]

I think this man was someone her parents would not have approved of:

not wealthy and/or educated
much older (most cases this didn't seem to be a problem with most families)
wrong skin color perhaps
wrong ethnicity??

who knows..... the possibities seem to be endless

maybe her parents were just domineering and she decided to have the final say in her life...

How did the truck-driver in Zanesville, Ohio describe the young man who was hitchhiking with "Bumbie"? Is that mentioned anywhere?

 

[Gina_M]

Has anyone thought of creating a MySpace page for Ruth? There are tons of "Missing Persons" related profiles on MySpace. I happen to run a couple of them and am "friends" with many others. This could generate more interest in Ruth's case.

 

[Marilynilpa]

How did the truck-driver in Zanesville, Ohio describe the young man who was hitchhiking with "Bumbie"? Is that mentioned anywhere?

I've just re-read my previous postings and can't find his description mentioned. I recall that he appeared to be about Ruth's age. I'll go through my newspaper clippings and see what I can find.

 

[Marilynilpa]

Has anyone thought of creating a MySpace page for Ruth? There are tons of "Missing Persons" related profiles on MySpace. I happen to run a couple of them and am "friends" with many others. This could generate more interest in Ruth's case.

Given the age of this case, I haven't really considered posting anything about it on MySpace or similar sites. I have posted a great deal about this on websites such as Websleuth.

 

[Marilynilpa]

I have so much information about Ruth, and I've had to go through my old postings to refresh my memory about what I've posted on this website.

There are several references to (1) the fact that Ruth appeared "nervous" in the days leading up to her disappearance and (2) that she seemed excited about something on the day of her disappearance.

If the sighting of Ruth in Zanesville, Ohio was legit, then I don't think she ran off with someone of the "wrong" color or ethnicity, since her companion was described as being white and of college age. I'll get his description from my files and post that within the next day or so.

I keep thinking that this case hinges on Ruth's mystery man on the phone. He called and left messages for Ruth the day of her disappearance. The man was not her fiance, and none of Ruth's sorority sisters remembered her talking about any other man in her life. Obviously she must have met this guy somewhere, but as far as I can tell this person was never identified.

I'll go through all of the research material I have and see if I can gather more info about this caller to post here, just to get some suggestions.

Thanks, guys, for all of the new input. It's fun to toss new ideas around.

Thanks Gina. I find it surprising that Ruth was willing to leave behind a family, her sorority sisters, a new car (which would have been a very valuable asset in those days) and never returned. she had to have done it for true love.

I think this man was someone her parents would not have approved of:

not wealthy and/or educated
much older (most cases this didn't seem to be a problem with most families)
wrong skin color perhaps
wrong ethnicity??

who knows..... the possibities seem to be endless

maybe her parents were just domineering and she decided to have the final say in her life...

BTW, nice car!!! I enjoyed the link Gina. Thanks again.

 

[Trino]

I've been following comments on Ruth, and the one thing that strikes me is no mention of high school and hometown friends, although she probably returned home over summers. Although people change, would it have been like Ruth, an otherwise studious and an engaged girl, to have left everything behind? Did any hometown friend have anything to say about her relationship with her parents and sister?

Then, too, what about her parents and sister all these years? Would she, especially knowing they had money, never have contacted them? If she was declared dead, was there a memorial service for her?

Re: the car
Why not take the car for a distance, then abandon it, especially if she disappeared at night?

 

[Marilynilpa]

Here's a description of the man Ruth was allegedly seen with in Zanesville, Ohio the day after she disappeared. He was described as a white man wearing an "award" sweater, which I presume is like a letterman's sweater. He did not wear a hat.

Another possible sighting occurred when a trucker gave two people a ride. One was a woman matching Ruth's description, and the other was a white male about her age, of "Nordic" descent.

I know I have a more complete description of the Zanesville, Ohio man, and when I find it I'll post it.

Regarding the mysterious telephone calls to Ruth's sorority house, here is what I can remember. There were five calls received a few hours preceding her disappearance. At least two of them were from a man with a high voice asking for Ruth. The same man called twice the previous night. Although we can't be certain, at the time her sorority sisters said Ruth did not talk to this caller.

Agent Stickeler of the Burns Detective Agency tried to locate this caller. He placed a notice in the University newspaper asking anyone with information about the caller to come forward, but it doesn't appear anyone responded with useful information.

I'll keep going through my research and will add more info as I run across it, for those of you who are new to this very interesting case!

 

[Marilynilpa]

I was also curious about why there was no mention of friends outside of Ruth's college. But she was a senior in college and very active in the sorority's social life, so she may not have had the time to keep in touch with old friends.

From all appearances, Ruth's relationship with her family was good. But as we all know, appearance can be deceiving, so there may be more here than meets the eye. I've been unable to locate anything to suggest Ruth ever contacted her family after her disappearance.

Regarding any type of memorial service for Ruth, I've not read anything about whether one was held or not. My guess is that there was not one. She is referred to in her parents' obituaries as "the late Ruth Baumgardner", but I don't believe this means her family ever knew what happened to her.

There is one nagging item that I've tried to follow up on, and have gotten nowhere. The Burns agent, fairly early into the investigation, seemed to have a hot lead regarding a friend of Ruth's in Cleveland who apparently had information that would explain Ruth's disappearance. I have been unable to find any other references to this person, and don't know if we're talking about a man or a woman. If anyone happens to come across anything about this, please post the info.

Thanks!

I've been following comments on Ruth, and the one thing that strikes me is no mention of high school and hometown friends, although she probably returned home over summers. Although people change, would it have been like Ruth, an otherwise studious and an engaged girl, to have left everything behind? Did any hometown friend have anything to say about her relationship with her parents and sister?

Then, too, what about her parents and sister all these years? Would she, especially knowing they had money, never have contacted them? If she was declared dead, was there a memorial service for her?

Re: the car
Why not take the car for a distance, then abandon it, especially if she disappeared at night?

 

[Stella]

Here's some more food for thought. According to "Witness" author Whittaker Chambers, agents for Soviet Russia were recruiting American college students throughout the 1930's to become spies. They always went after students who DID NOT belong to the American Communist Party. Once recruited, they were sent to the USSR for training. Some came back to America as working agents. Others were never seen again, possibly murdered because of a show of weakness by their Soviet handlers.I don't know if anyone else has googled Ruth's name, but there is a Ruth Baumgardner in Tennessee. Maybe a descendant of the missing girl? I bring this up because someone posted that a driver gave a ride to Tennessee to a couple that may have been Ruth and her unknown companion.

 

[Stella]

Marilynpa, you mention a friend of Ruth's from Cleveland who may have known something. If you believe in the abortion angle, Cleveland had a hospital, opened in 1935, called Cleveland Osteopathic Hospital. It was run by the father of the infamous Dr. Sam Sheppard, and much of it's business was allegedly performing abortions.

 

[Stella]

Marilynilpa, sorry I misspelled your name. These dang bi-focals....

 

[reportertype]

I had the same question as Trino regarding the car. The only reasoning I can think of is that the car was pretty fancy and would have stood out. Perhaps she was afraid if she was seen motoring along, it would have left clues to where she was going. Whoever she left with, assuming she didn't leave alone, may have decided not to take her car because it might have been noticeable.
I am toying with the idea that Ruth left willingly, but then something went wrong later on. Such as: She left with a man who later killed her after a fight or for some other reason. Or she died after an abortion went wrong. This scenario seems to fit what we know also.

 

[Gina_M]

I had the same question as Trino regarding the car. The only reasoning I can think of is that the car was pretty fancy and would have stood out. Perhaps she was afraid if she was seen motoring along, it would have left clues to where she was going. Whoever she left with, assuming she didn't leave alone, may have decided not to take her car because it might have been noticeable.
I am toying with the idea that Ruth left willingly, but then something went wrong later on. Such as: She left with a man who later killed her after a fight or for some other reason. Or she died after an abortion went wrong. This scenario seems to fit what we know also.

I agree about the car standing out...as it says in post #1: "She received a red convertible for her graduation gift, and had once remarked that if she ever wanted to disappear, she'd leave her car behind because the fiery red vehicle would be easy to spot."

I think she disappeared willingly, probably running off with her "mystery man".
An outfit and an overnight case were missing from her room, but she left everything else behind.

Again quoting from post #1:
"She was described as being 'jovial' that evening, but had seemed 'nervous' for the past few weeks. She was last seen hurrying to her room, and seemed 'excited' about something. She had received three calls from an unidentified male that day."

I think she ran off to be with this man, and possibly she was pregnant. I don't think she was planning to have an abortion, since she was described as "jovial" and "excited". What happened afterward is anyone's guess. She could have lived happily ever after with this man, never contacting her family again, or maybe something went wrong.

If Ruth were alive today, she'd be 90 years old, according to my calculations. If she did have a child with this mystery man, it's possible she has grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They might regard their grandmother/great-grandmother as a mysterious woman, who never had any family that she spoke of. The chances may be slim but maybe one of her descendents would read about Ruth's case and put two and two together.

 

[Gina_M]

Thanks Gina. I find it surprising that Ruth was willing to leave behind a family, her sorority sisters, a new car (which would have been a very valuable asset in those days) and never returned. she had to have done it for true love.

I think this man was someone her parents would not have approved of:

not wealthy and/or educated
much older (most cases this didn't seem to be a problem with most families)
wrong skin color perhaps
wrong ethnicity??

who knows..... the possibities seem to be endless

maybe her parents were just domineering and she decided to have the final say in her life...

BTW, nice car!!! I enjoyed the link Gina. Thanks again.

Glad you enjoyed the link

As Marilyn replied, the man was described by the trucker as being a white male around the same age. I would guess either he was not wealthy and/or educated, or maybe, if she was pregnant, she knew her parents would not approve of her being unmarried and pregnant. That was very taboo back then...most girls were sent away in secret to either have an abortion, or to have the baby and put it up for adoption. Maybe she really wanted to have the baby, and/or really loved this mystery guy. It could be that her engagement to Bud was arranged by her parents, and she really did not love him. She wanted to take control of her life, and she did that by running off and starting over.

At first I was thinking she could have initially planned to just go on an overnight trip and come back (since she only brought an overnight case and one outfit), and that something went wrong (i.e., the guy was a psycho and killed her). But no, I think she didn't intend to come back. She missed a test, and she had missed chapel for several weeks prior. Clearly her mind was on something else.

 

[Shane's Sister]

Hi All, this is my first post, and I've found a little info that may not be incredibly pertinent to the case, but I think is kind of interesting. I looked up the census for 1910, 1920, and 1930 in Lakewood, Cuyahoga, Ohio and found the Baumgardner family.

In 1910 Carl, Emma E., and Ora F., are residing at 1462 Newman Ave. in Lakewood. It states their home is owned but mortgaged, and Carl works as a manager of a manufacturing business. It says the birthplace of Emma's father is Ohio.

In the 1920 census, Ruth is now born, and is living with Carl, Emma, and Ora. They are still resisding at the same address on Newman Avenue, and Carl's employment is the same, but now the birthplace of Emma's father is Massachusetts.

In the 1930 census I found Carl, Emma, And Ruth (Ora must be married and moved out by now) living at 2093 Arthur Avenue, which is still in the same neighborhood where they resided previously. It states Carl now owns the manufacturing business, but Emma's fathers' place of birth is now Rhode Island.

Also, I found Carl's WWI draft registration card where it states he is employed at Baumgardener Manufacturing Co. Family business maybe?

It struck me that possibly, if Carl was a well known up-and-coming businessman that this could be a kidnap for ransom gone wrong?

I also found it quite strange how Emma's father's place of birth seems to change every 10 years. I understand that mistakes can and were made by the census takers back then, but the way it changes strikes me as a little shady. Maybe this family had some skeletons in the closet, which might explain why they wanted their daughter's case closed.

Also in the 1930 census, I found a Harry Bruehler Moore, 16 at the time, residing at 1527 Elbur Avenue in Lakewood with a John B. and May B. Moore. In the 'relation to head of household' catagory, Harry is listed as 'adopted son'. Nothing really of note here, just thought it interesting that I found them in the same neighborhood.

I think it would be interesting if we could figure out more about the business that Carl Baumgardner owned. I googled it and found a Baumgardner and Sons, in Cleveland, but it says the business was started (I think) in 1937 (which wouldn't work, Carl owned his by 1930) by a George Baumgardner. Also that site makes no mention of a Carl.

Well guys, I hope I haven't bored you to death. This case surely is an interesting one.

 

[docwho3]

. . .Well guys, I hope I haven't bored you to death. This case surely is an interesting one.

Nice first post. I found the info quite interesting.

 

[reportertype]

Probably it's just a case of me being shallow, but it's hard to imagine someone from a comfortable family running off with nothing during the Depression. I wonder if she had a stash of money someplace or whoever she left with did. I saw the car ref, Gina, I'd forgotten about Ruth's statement.

 

[GraceBlue]

Ruth Baumgardner was 21 in 1937 which would have made her born on or around 1916.
What is/was Ruth's middle name?
I found a listing on zabasearch.com for Ruth E Baumgardner who was born in 1916 and she lives in Florida. I know its a long shot but...could this be her?